Published: September 15, 2020 by iSchool Career Advisor

Save time, expand your horizons, and learn a lot with these LIS blogs to add to your news feed!

Starting the iSchool MLIS program can seem overwhelming with the sheer amount of new information coming at you – and not just in classes. Many career transition students have no library experience, and the learning curve can seem quite steep. The LIS profession has its own acronyms, people of note, and corners of the internet new to the beginner in the field. One step to getting comfortable is aligning your social media diet to your new career/life plans and goals.

Another (relatively easy) step is to set up a news aggregator, such as Feedly. Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook provide news feeds that you can customize to take advantage of all the time-saving tricks you can.

Here are the top 10 blogs to add to your news feed. What others would you suggest?

1. Tame the Web http://tametheweb.com/
   TTW is Dr. Michael Stephens’ home on the web. You should be familiar with him for a couple of reasons. One, he’s a professor here; he teaches INFO 200 and 287: The Hyperlinked Library regularly. Two, he’s just released a book, and he writes and presents all over the library world.
2. David Lee King http://www.davidleeking.com/
   David Lee King is another big name in the library world. He posts regularly on his own site about libraries+technology/social media. He also writes and presents in a lot of interesting places.
3. Hack Library School https://hacklibraryschool.com/
   HLS is written by library school students (or recent grads) for library school students, so their content is generally pretty relevant. The topics are wide-ranging, so it’s a nice, broad look at being a student in the LIS world.
4. iStudent Blog http://ischool.ddsandbox.net/istudent-blog
   The iStudent Blog is run by the iSchool, but written by a current student, Allison Randall Gatt. Allison has been posting for about two years now, and she writes about everything from tips for new students to where to get bumper stickers to how Dr. Sandra Hirsh spends her days.
5. iSchool Curriculum Center https://ischoolapps.sjsu.edu/blogs/icc/
   I admit, the title is not scintillating, and, if I’m being really honest, the content isn’t either. BUT. Dr. Main provides timely, hyper-useful information about class schedules, registration information, and everything related. She also (fairly quickly) answers questions in the comments, so it’s a good resource for iSchool students to keep an eye on.
6. iSchool Career Blog http://ischool.ddsandbox.net/career-blog
   While we’re on an iSchool run here, let me oh-so-coolly slip in this humble space. I’m Kate, an iSchool student, and I write here most of the time. Jill Klees also puts in her two cents. We’ve been on a light posting schedule this summer, but we are ramping up for the school year and definitely want to be sure to post about things you want to read about. So, please, send us your requests! In the upcoming months, I’ll share some more about social media and stuff on the web, professional organizations, and student groups. Basically, I want to help you network, build your career, and find jobs you love.
7. Entrepreneur: Networking https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/networking
   So when it comes to networking, do you, like so many students, think of it as a dirty word? It’s not, not really, and Entrepreneur’s networking articles make it feel much more approachable. Obviously, the information isn’t LIS-specific, but the topics covered are applicable to most career paths.
8. Librarian in Black
   Sarah Houghton is a public library director in California, and she writes about technology, libraries, web+digital services and where and how they all intersect. She only posts about once a month, so you won’t be overwhelmed, but you will learn.
9. Library Journal https://www.libraryjournal.com/
   LJ is one of THE publications for the library community, and its web content is robust and wide-ranging. Per the website, Built on more than a century of quality journalism and reviews, LJ provides groundbreaking features and analytical news reports covering technology, management, policy and other professional concerns to public, academic and institutional libraries. Its contributors also write a lot of reviews.
10. The Adventures of Library Girl http://www.librarygirl.net/
    Another relatively light poster, Library Girl (AKA Jennifer LaGuard) is a school librarian, teacher, and advocate. She writes thought-provoking posts around those themes and also cohosts a Twitter book club.
11. Bonus!
    A Librarian By Any Other Name https://librarianhats.net/
    Sally Gore writes “musings and stories and thoughts and ideas related to libraries, information and knowledge management, health sciences, and now, evaluation and translational science.” Sally’s archives are wide-ranging and her posts are always though-provoking. I’ve even referred to one before.
    As a bonus on the bonus, we get to hear her speak this fall during a Career Webcast! Keep an eye on your inbox for more information.

By integrating LIS reading into your regular routine, start to soak up some of the information that’s out there. There’s always more to learn, but at least with a news feed, you’ve got something managing the flow for you!

What’s in your news feed? What are your favorite sources for school or LIS news? Tell us in the comments!